Smart Phone Choices

[Brian Elfert]

I work in IT as a server administrator and the basic ideology we have is if a server starts swapping due to out of RAM memory then the server needs more RAM memory. Swap space is sometimes used even if not out of physical RAM and that is okay. My employer uses all virtual machines so it is a simple operation to add more RAM. No buying actual sticks of memory and sticking them inside a physical case.

[Jim Becker]

Yes, that was always my contention, recommendation and/or execution for the same, for both my IT work and for my telecom work. Fortunately, devices like servers can be augmented with more resources. That's unfortunately not the case with many portable devices. What you got is what you got.

[Bert Kemp]

I have a 4 year old Moto G6 cost me $129 and I pay $18 month for my service. I have unlimited Cell, Text and Data on wifi and unlimited Cell and text over cell towers. I'm pretty sure it can do everything a $600 or more I-phone can do, in fact It does some stuff my daughter Iphone doesn't do. I have no data on cell towers but why do you need it since in most states its against the law to text, read email , watch movies or what ever while driving. and just about every store, restaurant, and hotel in the country has free wifi. So why do you pay for a data plan.

[Steve Demuth]

Seems like you've landed on something that works, so this is probably no longer useful, but the way I've dealt with the outrageous cost of smart phones is to buy refurbished high-end Android devices. First off, because Android can be had for way less than what Apple thinks an iPhone is worth. But refurbished because typically, they are like new anyway, and by buying a 2 year old model year that is refurbished, I get $1000 phones for around $200. Right now I have a Google Pixel 4 I picked up that way.

As for carriers, I have a national carrier, but my wife uses US Mobile. You can basically tailor a US Mobile plan to your exact needs. She gets everything she needs for $10/month, since she really only uses the phone for emergencies and traveling.

[Bill Dufour]

I bought mine and my wife's phones on eBay. Several years old supposed top be unlocked but they were Verizon to start with and that is our career anyway. Paid about $60 each delivered. Bought one terrbyte memory card for under $20 each.
We ended up with Kyocera Duraforce pro. Being verizon models they are sapphire screen, rugged , waterproof, dustproof etc. The pro 2 loses the physical buttons at the bottom which we wanted to have se we got the older model. Models that do not say verizon may or may not have the sapphire screen. They are heavy and thick but not much more then another phone after you add a protective cover/skin.
They are supposed to be rugged and unbreakable but you see ones. for sale with chipped corners, cracked screens etc.
Buy a charging mat and you do not need to buy a special charger that matches
Bill D

https://www.verizon.com/smartphones/...duraforce-pro/

[Derek Meyer]

My wife and I recently switched carriers from AT&T to a local company. Their service is much cheaper, about half of what AT&T was charging us, but we had to buy new phones, as the new carrier uses Verizon's towers. We ended up trading in our iPhones and getting new iPhone 12 Pro Max units. The new provider gave us $450 off the price of each phone, plus $480 trade in for our old phones, plus $250 of credit to spend on accessories. We chose screen protectors, a case for my wife's phone, and new high-current chargers. I think we got a charge pad as well. The package was a good way to absorb the cost of phones that would normally be $1100 each.

[Bert Kemp]

$1100 for a phone thats crazy

[Doug Dawson]

$1100 for a phone thats crazy

When the original iPhone came out, it was 600 bucks. (I still have some, buried in the back yard for continuity of data.) Then people got totally spoiled by all the carrier subsidies, where you could buy a new one every other year for 200 bucks, as long as you spent hundreds of bucks a month for service, so the actual cost was buried. Now the actual cost of them is naked. A 12 Max Pro is way more than twice the phone. Just a sanity check. The Androids OTOH are a commodity, basically. There ain’t no sanity clause.

[Jerry Bruette]

UPS dropped off the new iPhone SE's today.

Now starts the learning and teaching LOML how to use it.

[Jeff Bartley]

I just ordered a new iPhone after getting an upgrade offer from Verizon. $7/month for 24 months with a trade in of an iPhone 4 or newer. Seemed like a no-brainer. I went with the 12 mini (128gb) just so I'd have something that fit in my pocket, camelback, and pfd. And I was happy to learn that they're finally making iPhone waterproof.....but I'm sure I'll still put it in a Lifeproof case.
But I still can't believe that $1000 phones is where we are today!

[Doug Dawson]

I just ordered a new iPhone after getting an upgrade offer from Verizon. $7/month for 24 months with a trade in of an iPhone 4 or newer. Seemed like a no-brainer. I went with the 12 mini (128gb) just so I'd have something that fit in my pocket, camelback, and pfd. And I was happy to learn that they're finally making iPhone waterproof.....but I'm sure I'll still put it in a Lifeproof case.
But I still can't believe that $1000 phones is where we are today!

The cost of the parts for an iPhone 12 is around 400 bucks.

Source: https://www.gizchina.com/2020/11/25/...of-components/

The cost of the parts for an original iPhone was a bit over 200 bucks. (I don’t recall the source, but it was common knowledge.)

That was based on actual cost to the manufacturer.

[Mike Henderson]

The cost of the parts for an iPhone 12 is around 400 bucks.

Source: https://www.gizchina.com/2020/11/25/...of-components/

The cost of the parts for an original iPhone was a bit over 200 bucks. (I don’t recall the source, but it was common knowledge.)

That was based on actual cost to the manufacturer.

The cost to manufacture a product has little to do with the selling price. It may put a floor on the price but that's it. And sometimes things are sold at a loss for valid reasons.

Look at luxury goods - the selling price is much, much higher than the cost to manufacture.

Apple charges what it does because people are willing to pay that price. They did announce this round (of announcements) a range of products with some of them reasonably low. But for the top end, they have a good sized profit in the product.

Other things that affect the selling price are the other costs in the company such as engineering cost, marketing and sales costs, etc. For products with fairly low volume of sales, such as hearing aids, these costs can be a significant part of the total allocated cost of the product.

Mike

[Doug Dawson]

The cost to manufacture a product has little to do with the selling price. It may put a floor on the price but that's it.

Of course. The point was the floor, and that not much has changed over the years with Apple's markup on these things.

[Curt Harms]

........................................
BTW, don't underestimate the usefulness of the smartphone cameras, however...even if you don't want to become one of the next paparazzi, being able to take decent photos wherever you are can be very handy.

A well known photographer (forget the name) was asked what kind of camera was best. His reply? "The one you have with you". Phones score high on that metric.

[Bruce Volden]

My phone hangs on the wall in the house, where every phone should be!

Bruce